Player Ratings: New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls.

Bobby Shuttleworth – 4
Sure, it was just one mistake, but it’s one a goalkeeper simply can’t make in that situation – if a goalie goes for that cross on the goal, he has to get it. Distribution also wasn’t great, though otherwise it was a solid, but not too difficult night.

Flo Lechner – 5
Average showing both in passing and defensively before leaving injured. Looked like the injury may have slowed him a bit before the substitution.

Darrius Barnes – 7
Great header for the last second equalizer, though he probably should’ve scored earlier with his first half header he put off target. Strong showing defensively both in the center and on the right and played some good balls out of the back.

A.J. Soares – 5.5
Mostly strong showing for Soares, but the apparent miscommunication on the Red Bulls goal brought back memories of the similar situations with Matt Reis during the Revs midsummer collapse.

Kevin Alston – 6
Another solid showing at left back by Alston, who for whatever reason has been playing some of his best soccer since switching to the left.

Kelyn Rowe – 5
Smart lay off to Guy in the build-up to the equalizer, but otherwise a very mixed night. Some decent offensive plays, but often too slow and too indecisive under pressure.

Clyde Simms – 5.5
Play in transition showed signs of improvement in an overall solid showing.

Ryan Guy – 5.5
Great cross to set up Barnes goal, but otherwise it wasn’t Guy’s best night. A few good recoveries defensively, but too many turnovers.

Lee Nguyen – 6
Offensive catalyst for the Revolution and his free kicks seem to get better each game. Perhaps a bit too selfish at times, however, running into traffic and earning a free kick rather than playing Fagundez in space on one occasion. Could’ve avoided a couple hard fouls he took with faster passes.

Diego Fagundez – 5.5
Some solid combination play with Bengtson early, but faded a bit before getting subbed out late.

Jerry Bengtson – 6.5
Denied a goal by an incorrect offside call and then saw another strong shot tipped off the crossbar. Some good combination play with Fagundez early and some decent hold up play in the second half.

(sub) Stephen McCarthy – 5.5
Came in off the bench for a solid performance. Perhaps slid in too soon on the Red Bulls goal, but hard to place too much fault on him for that.

About Sean Donahue

Sean Donahue serves as an editor and staff writer at New England Soccer Today. He has been covering the New England Revolution since 2002 for various publications. He has covered four MLS Cups, in addition to covering various international matches, including World Cup Qualifying and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has done freelance work for the Associated Press and ESPN Boston.
Sean co-hosts New American Game, a soccer talk radio show from 10am to noon on WMEX AM1510. He previously hosted Revolution Recap, a weekly radio program covering the New England Revolution and U.S. Men's National Team from 2005-2008. He is a member of the North American Soccer Reporters. Sean can be reached at nesoccertoday@gmail.com or on Twitter @SeanLDonahue